


Don't make me spell it out for you

by lesbianbean



Series: you want the world/well what's it worth? [6]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, American Politics, F/F, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Rule 63, Shopping, tfw your crush is really really oblivious, the White House Correspondent's Dinner is Serious Business
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 17:57:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16269413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianbean/pseuds/lesbianbean
Summary: Jazz thinks Prowl works too much and she wants to help. She also needs a date to the White House Correspondent's Dinner. Perhaps she can solve both problems at once.





	Don't make me spell it out for you

The Nordstrom was crowded, but not chaotic. Jazz spotted a few other DC insiders, but thankfully no one seemed to notice them, which meant no stilted conversations. 

“I can’t try this on.” Bumblebee stared incredulously at the yellow dress. “It’s half my salary.”

“C’mon.” Jazz tried to hand it back to Bumblebee, who shook her head. “If you like it, I can help you out.” 

“I can’t let you buy me this! I already caved on that blazer, but at least that’s workplace attire. And when am I ever going to wear this?”

She tried to hand the dress back but Jazz refused to take it. “Next week’s the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, Bee. Do you have an outfit for that?”

Bumblebee stared at her. “You--I wasn’t aware that I was going.”

“You are.” Prowl didn’t look up from her phone. “The President thinks it would be a good experience for you. She was going to formally invite you yesterday but her meetings got moved around at the last minute and she had to go up to New York.” She glanced up when she didn’t hear a response.“If you want to go, that is.”

“Of--of course! I would be thrilled. Absolutely.” Jazz picked up on the shift in her mood and gestured at the dress. 

“Now you have to try it on.” Bumblebee glanced down at it, her resolve visibly weakening. “It’s even your color!” 

“I...” She looked over at Prowl as if for permission, and the older woman sighed and nodded.

“She’s right. It is your color.”

“All right.” Bumblebee hugged the dress to her and darted over to the dressing room. Jazz sat down next to Prowl to wait for her to come out, their knees brushing. 

“So what are you wearing to the dinner, Prowl?”

“I’m not going.” 

“Are you serious? It’s going to be amazing this year. They booked Ali Wong.”

“I’ll catch the highlights when I’m at the gym the next day, like I usually do.”

“But don’t you want to see the drama in real time? Last year you missed Starscream throwing a drink at Mirage. It was fucking transcendent to watch.”

Prowl rolled her eyes. “It’s not necessary for me to be there, and I’m not interested in watching drunken fights at parties. Or jokes about last month’s shutdown.”

“Prowler, come on.” Jazz jumped up and grabbed a silky red blouse off the rack. “Here. Try this.”

“We should be getting back.”

“I got something, Bee’s getting something, you should get something too. You could wear this with one of your suits.”

“I’m not going to the--”

“I know, I know, you’re not going! But you could wear it to something not work-related. Museums. The theater.”

“The _theater?_.”

“Maybe you’ll get out more if you invest in this.”

“Jazz, I have one of the most stressful jobs in the world.” 

“All the more reason to make time to do something not work-related.” Prowl looked uncertain, but she let Jazz pull her off the bench and hand her the blouse. “Here. I’ll hold your phone.” She grabbed it before Prowl could stop her. “The world won’t end if you don’t respond immediately to an email.”

“Wait, what if--”

“Go!”

Prowl sighed but seemed to decide it wasn’t a big enough issue to argue over, tucking the blouse under her arm. Jazz followed her back to the dressing rooms, snagging a few other things that looked interesting. After a few minutes, Prowl opened the door a crack, one hand behind her pinching the blouse shut. 

“I don’t think it’s working.” 

“Why not?”

“I can’t get the back to stay fastened.”

“Let me see. Here--” She nudged Prowl back into the dressing room.  
Prowl looked incredible in the red blouse--it was the perfect color against her dark skin, the silky fabric bringing out her high cheekbones and the warm highlights in her brown eyes. The problem was thankfully easy to fix. Somehow a thread had gotten in the eye of the hook-and-eye latch that connected the fabric in the back and kept the latch from closing. Jazz carefully tugged it out and hooked the back of the blouse together Her fingers brushed over the back of Prowl’s neck and she felt her shiver. “It’s all right, I’ve got it. Okay. Look at it now.”

Prowl stared at her reflection in the mirror, tracing over one of the buttons on the cuff. “The fabric is impractical.”

“You can get it drycleaned with your suits. Do you have anything like this?” She noticed Prowl had buttoned it up all the way, which was definitely not how it was supposed to be worn. Without thinking, she reached over the other woman’s shoulder to undo the top button, adjusting the collar. 

“I would never wear it like that. It’s unprofessional.” Jazz caught her hand as she reached up to button it back up. 

“You don’t always have to be professional, y’know? It’s okay to loosen up a little sometimes.” She looked at their reflections in the mirror and noticed that Prowl wasn’t looking at the blouse, she was watching Jazz with an odd expression on her face. Worried that she was nervous, Jazz squeezed her hand comfortingly, and Prowl leaned back into her just slightly, closing her eyes. They stood like that for a moment, and Jazz was just considering pulling her closer when Prowl stepped away. 

“You should check on Bumblebee.”

“Are you going to get the blouse?”

“No. It’s too expensive. Go, I need to change.” 

Jazz tried to catch her eye but Prowl wouldn’t look at her.

________

Prowl avoided her eyes in the next day’s staff meeting, focusing on the details of the president’s upcoming U.N. speech and the education package that was likely to run into a Senate battle in the next few months. 

“Jazz, I need you to stay back for a few minutes to discuss today’s press briefing.” 

Jazz nodded, suspecting the briefing wasn’t the real reason Prowl wanted to talk to her. When the rest of the staff had filtered out, Prowl closed the door and held up the red blouse. 

“What is this?”

“I knew you weren’t going to buy it for yourself, and you need to have something to wear to the Correspondents Dinner.”

“Jazz, I’m not going. We have enough people from our office making an appearance already, and if I stay back at the office I can get ahead on that infrastructure reform package the President wants to push this summer.”

“Prowler, do you ever have any fun?”

“I already told you, sitting alone at a party and watching people get drunk and insult each other isn’t my idea of fun. I had enough of that on the campaign trail.”

“Hey, who says you’d be alone?” Prowl gave her a look that was almost hurt, and Jazz felt equal parts frustration and guilt, wondering if she needed to use cue cards to spell out what she wanted. “All I’m saying, girl, is--”

“Save it, Jazz. Look, I’m going to assume you kept the receipt. If not, I’ll compensate you for it. Or you can just keep it. It would look better on you anyway.”

Jazz took a step closer to the other woman, noticing how Prowl’s eyes darted down to her lips. “I liked it on you, though.” 

“Oh, please. I looked ridiculous.” 

“You looked hot. Like, really hot.”

Prowl took a step back, jumping just slightly when she bumped into the desk. “That’s inappropriate.”

“All right. But you know, if you do change your mind, you wouldn’t have to go alone.”

“Are you--wait.” Prowl leaned against the desk, running a hand through her short locs. “Oh my god, are you asking me to go with you? Like--as a date?”

Jazz told herself not to laugh, she didn’t want Prowl to get the wrong idea, but the look of surprise on the White House chief of staff’s face was almost comical. “Babe, I’ve been trying to get you to go on a date with me since the New Hampshire primaries.”

“You’ve been fucking _what?_ ”

Jazz couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard Prowl swear. “I want to take you out on a date somewhere. Ideally not the cafeteria, but I’m flexible.” 

“Are you serious, Jazz? You’re not--this isn’t some kind of prank?” Prowl looked down at the desk, shuffling some of the papers around. Jazz noticed that her hands were shaking. It continued to baffle her, how oblivious someone smart as Prowl could be. 

“Why would I joke about this? Look at me. C’mon.” She took a step closer, testing the waters, and Prowl’s eyes snapped back to hers. 

“Jazz...”

Jazz carefully took the papers Prowl was holding out of her hands, giving the other woman plenty of time to stop her, and then reached up to squeeze her shoulder. “Hey, Prowler, it’s just me. Relax.” Prowl inhaled shakily, her brown eyes hesitant, and Jazz gently moved her hand up over her neck, sweeping her thumb over the place where the taller woman’s pulse rapidly beat. “Is it okay if I kiss you?” 

Prowl nodded, gripping the edge of her desk, and Jazz leaned in--stroking Prowl’s cheek and relishing the woman’s soft sigh. The tension slowly ebbed out of Prowl’s body as Jazz kissed her, and Jazz’s stomach flipped as Prowl’s her hands tentatively came up to her waist, pulling her closer. A few very enjoyable minutes passed before Prowl’s computer dinged and they reluctantly broke apart. Jazz watched her as she checked the email that had just come in, noting with a thrill how flushed her cheeks were from just their short kiss.

“Come out to lunch with me today. We can discuss transportation to the Correspondents Dinner.”

“You’re cute, Jazz, but I’m still not going.”

Jazz raised an eyebrow at her. “There’s nothing I can do to convince you?”

Prowl rolled her eyes but Jazz could see her lips twitching. “Do you know how busy I am today?”

“Fine. I’ll bring you lunch.” She grabbed Prowl by the wrist and pulled her in for another kiss before turning to leave, this one a little less polite. “If you do come, believe me when I tell you that I’ll make it worth your while.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ali Wong is doing the homecoming show at my university and she's very funny, you should definitely watch her standup on Netflix. In the meantime, here, have more femslash.


End file.
